Awake
by puffyspuffy
Summary: After Draco learns Hermione has been petrified, he must face his guilt and his underlying feelings for the Muggle born witch. DRAMIONE! (Chamber of Secrets AU)
1. Chapter 1

Word had made it's way to the Slytherin Common Room. Another muggle born had been petrified. Draco sat in the corner by the fire with his nose turned up in a book, paying no mind to the gossip. A twinge of guilt seeped through his soul; he did feel sorry for those boys…even Mrs. Norris. Only he knew that this was not going to be the end, far from it. His father had yet to trust him with full Death Eater information, only fragments of rumor and orders. Still, Draco knew there was a connection between the Chamber and the Dark Lord. He also knew his family played an integral role in these attacks.

Flipping the page, he heard a girl giggling.

"Malfoy, did you hear?" she called to him, obviously desperate to share her glee.

He refused to verbally acknowledge her and only lift his eyes above the top of the hardbound cover. She took his gaze as interest and continued.

"Granger is in the hospital wing. Can you believe Potter actually went after that mudblood and they're supposed to be chums?" She scoffed, "I might actually be growing to admire that boy."

Once again she waited for a reaction from Draco. She wouldn't get it. At least not externally. On the surface he remained cold as stone, the way Lucius had conditioned him to be. On the inside, his nerves were shaking. Not Granger.

The Common Room calmed as each patron slipped off to bed. Draco remained in his chair, frozen in thought, as though he were the one petrified. Finally he was alone. Without any hesitation he pushed himself from the chair and into the empty corridors. It had to be nearly midnight and wandering the halls this late was against school rules. He didn't care. Stomping silently towards the hospital his fists and jaw were clenched with anxiety.

Entering the room full of beds an eerie feeling swept over him. The bodies lied a few apart from each other. Their eyes were open wide in horror. Draco knew they couldn't actually see him but it felt as though they were watching his every move. It wasn't until he reached her bed he realized he'd been holding his breath. Itching the back of his neck nervously, Draco attempted to brush down the fine blond hairs that were standing on end. She was as solid as a rock, her mouth gaping open and her eyes of pain. Her cheeks still held their rosy color, though, which brought some warmth to his fingertips.

He wouldn't dare step any closer but whispered to her, "I'm sorry."

The words sounded foreign; Draco couldn't remember the last time he'd uttered an apology and actually meant it.

"I didn't want it to be you," he sucked in a breath. This was much harder than he'd anticipated.

"I understand I said I did but Granger -" he paused. She couldn't hear him but all the less, she deserved more than that. "Hermione."

It was also the first time he'd ever actually spoken her name. It felt sweet on his lips.

Taking just a few steps he stood over her body. Her stiff hand was up towards the sky; he had the urge to touch her. So he did. Cautiously, Draco wrapped his shaking hand in hers. Electricity.

"You shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be here, but, I had to see for myself."

Draco half expected her to give him some tort response. She was so good at those. Hermione Granger was one of the only people who was never afraid to put him in his place. The way she spoke to him…the way he spoke to her. He looked down, ashamed, thinking back to the day Weasley had attempted his curse. The memory of the wanker pale and puking should have brought the spark in his eye. All Draco was focused on was her. How he'd disrespected her. The hurt on her face haunted him, though he was forbidden to act on it.

"I'm sorry for everything and I'm sorry I could never say it when you could hear."

Draco instinctively gave her hand a small squeeze. Deep down he wished it would be enough to wake her up. Chuckling to himself as his thumb rubbed gently over top her hand, he couldn't help but wonder what his father would say in this moment. Not only was he holding the hand of a muggle born but he was apologizing for being a complete arse. He was admitting he was wrong…he was admitting his feelings for her. "I admire you, Hermione. I would never say it aloud but you're much more clever than I am. I suppose I am saying it aloud but it's not as if you can hear me. Hold it against me or anything."

Sighing, he laced his fingers through hers.

"I was so hoping you could solve this mystery, but I suppose you'll have to leave that up to Potter and Weasley." He chuckled again. The chuckleheads.

Releasing her hand, the cold returned to his body. Numb once more. Aching for one last bit of her, he leaned down to her ear, inhaling the smell of her curls. "Goodnight, Hermione." Glancing at her cheek as he pulled away, Draco lipped his lips. His instincts said to kiss her cherry skin but he backed away, clearing his throat, choosing to be a gentleman instead. Turning sharply on his heel, he raced from the hospital wing never slowing until reaching his bed.

He couldn't sleep; He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until she was awake.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been week since Draco snuck into the hospital wing to visit Hermione.

And he couldn't get it out of his head.

He even dreamt of her. Every night. The way she smelled. The sound of her voice. It would be absolutely vile if they weren't the only thing granting him any peace in the situation. Sitting in class, looking at her empty seat, practically killed him.

And he couldn't tell anyone.

Normally his dreams were sweet...sometimes even a bit salty. Tonight's was different. His feet were moving as fast as they would take them, weaving in and out of the shadows, trying to escape the ever looming feeling of death that was following him. Tears streamed down his pale cheeks; whenever he opened his mouth to scream for help, nothing came out. He had no idea where he was going, just wandering aimlessly, trying to find safety.

Then he ended up in the hospital wing once more. Before he'd stepped timidly but now, he ran. There was Weasley and Potter hovering over her with Dumbledore and McGonagall. They didn't seem to sense his presence just as he couldn't sense the darkness that'd been following him. Using his icy orbs to scan over their faces he realized now why it wasn't chasing him any longer.

It was here. On their faces.

Pushing past their stone, forlorn bodies he stood over Hermione. Her face was still ice but the rosy tint had faded. So had the light in her eyes. The were the only sliver of hope she was still in there.

"No…" he whispered to her, "You have to wake up."

Now he felt alone. Tearing his eyes from Granger for only a moment, all the others had disappeared. Turning back to the bed - so had she.

"Hello!?" Draco finally found his voice. Calling out to anyone that could possibly hear him. "Hermione?!"

She whispered back to him as if molded with the wind, "I'm here."

Comfort came, but just barely. "Where?" Was he talking to himself.

The air brushed against his ear and his eyes closed. She was here. "Wake up, Draco." Her voice was persistent.

"Wake up, Draco! Wake up!"

He did. Jolting up in a cold sweat, Draco clutched the blanket to his bare chest. The peek of sunrise was shining through his windows. "A bloody nightmare," He muttered to himself. He noticed his hands were shaking. His stomach was sick. "This woman is petrified and can still drive me mad." That thought alone brought a tiniest of smiles to his face. He liked it when she drove him crazy. Made him think.

Hermione Granger could make him a better boy...if he'd just wake up.

Was that what she'd meant? Shaking the thought away, Draco deduced it was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. She couldn't have been speaking to him through his dreams. That was impossible.

That night, Lucius had come to Hogwarts. He was waiting for Draco in the Common Room.

"Where were you lurking?" Lucius had the same tone of judgement dripping from his tone.

Dropping his bag, Draco shrugged. The whole day he hadn't been able to pay attention in his lessons. The nightmare had been playing on a loop in his head. Over and over and over. Hoping to get the thought from his head, Draco had chosen to skip dinner to go for a walk. "I was outside reading." He answered simply. It wasn't as though he could tell his father he was dreaming of a mudblood.

Lucius' face seemed as if he were reading every corner of his son's face, attempting to catch him in a lie.

"What are you doing here, father?"

Sneering, his father explained, "Fudge and I are planning on taking that incompetent excuse for a groundskeeper to Azkaban tonight. I thought I would...check up."

The way Lucius dragged out those last words, looking him up and down, made Draco's skin crawl. Something else was going on; he could feel it. "I'm fine, father."

"I suppose you are." He reached out to touch his son. The moment his palm touch his shoulder, Draco felt it. That same darkness that had been chasing him in his nightmare. Her words then echoed in his head. Wake up.

He shuddered and Lucius pulled back. "Draco." That was his goodbye. Draco stood perfectly still as his father slunk passed him. The air had been sucked from the room and only with his departure did he feel the oxygen returning to his lungs.

Wake. Up.

His body went limp and he fell to his knees. Running his hair through his blond locks in frustration, Draco pulled at the edges. This had to mean something. Was she warning him of danger? He had to know.

He'd have to see her again.

Just as that night, Draco waited for nightfall. Sneaking into the hospital wing, he ran to Hermione's bed just as he'd seen before. It felt eerie. "Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead."

Seeing her, though still petrified, her face brought him joy. Instinctively, Draco reached out to stroke her cheek. They were still rosey; her eyes were still full. There was still a sign of life.

"What are you doing to me?" His voice cracked. It was vulnerable in a way he'd never heard before. "Why are you doing? Get out of my head Granger."

He waited as if she were going to respond. Nothing. Sighing, he touched her hand. "I can't feel this way anymore. It," Draco swallowed back a lump forming in his throat. It hurt him to say such, "It's not right. We can never be."

"Mr. Malfoy."

The greeting came from Dumbledore. Turning sharply to face the professor, his expression dropped. "Professor." Usually he spoke to the man with disgust - something he'd learnt from his father. Tonight, it was of fear and slight shame.

Dumbledore stayed in his place at the doorway though his face said it all. He'd caught Draco and he was...pleased, perhaps? "I was wondering when you would come back."

"I…" Draco didn't know what he would say.

The professor held up a hand to stop him and simply shook his head, "A beautiful thing, romance. Love. It'd be a shame for such a gift to be ruined by selfish pride. A blood bias." Giving the young boy a warm smile, he continued, "You see, Draco, love can be a wonderful dream but in order to fully enjoy, sometimes we have to wake up."

Tipping his head, Dumbledore departed to leave Draco with his thoughts that were now racing. Squeezing Hermione's hand, his eyes looked into hers. It all made sense now.

"Sometimes we have to wake up." He repeated.


End file.
